Bill Pearce, a commercial pilot from Maryland who has worked for several major airlines, says flying in and out of Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. is tough for pilots and air traffic control.

An American Airlines regional jet went down in the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after colliding with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday night, with no survivors expected.

The deadly mid-air collision over Washington, D.C., has reignited concerns over air traffic congestion and safety risks at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, a tightly packed aviation hub that shares airspace with military and government flights.

Lawmakers have expressed concerns about congestion in at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport amid a constricted space.

We’ve been pretty plain about our [safety] concerns, but it isn’t a good time to speculate right now,’ Senator Tim Kaine said Thursday

The plan to add five incoming and five outgoing flights was included in the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act last year.

While officials have not said how many people died or were injured, the crash has already taken an emotional toll on the local communities.

A jet with 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter while preparing to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., sending the aircraft plummeting into the Potomac River and killing everyone on board.

God forbid waking up and looking in a mirror one day and say, ‘Wow, I was warned. I was warned and I shouldn’t have done this,’” Kaine said in 2024.

Some experts, politicians and airport managers have been warning of the risks posed by the crowded airspace at Reagan Washington National Airport.

Leaders across the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia region, as well as federal lawmakers, are reacting to the tragic American Airlines plane crash near DCA.